LONDON Festive cheer has come early to world markets (bar those dollar bulls) on growing certainty that central

Bernardo Silva is determined to right a wrong after firing Manchester City back to the Champions League final. The Portugal playmaker struck twice as City overpowered Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday to set up a clash with Inter Milan in next month’s Istanbul showpiece. It marks a return to the final for City two years on from their disappointing loss to Chelsea on European club football’s top night and Silva wants to ensure the result is different this time. The 28-year-old said: “The final of the Champions League is always an unbelievable occasion. “I’ve only played it once and the outcome was wasn’t very happy for me. Let’s try and change that. “We know that we play against a very tough team. I watched their game on Tuesday and they are very organised collectively. “We’re going to study them, follow the manager’s plan once again and try to, individually and collectively, put out the best possible performance, like this one, to be as close as possible to winning that game.” City produced one of the greatest performances in the club’s history to move a step closer to winning the competition for the first time. Real Madrid, the holders and 14-time winners of the trophy, had no answer to City’s dizzying combination of movement, speed, strength and cutting edge. City made a blistering start and maintained the intensity throughout. Silva put them into a thoroughly deserved lead after 23 minutes and added a second before the interval. An Eder Militao own goal and late Julian Alvarez strike made the scoreline 5-1 on aggregate and truly reflective of their superiority. Victory could have been even more emphatic with Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making three fine saves to deny Erling Haaland. City’s display ensured sweet revenge for their loss to the same opponents in the semi-finals last year. “I’m very happy because the performance was amazing,” Silva said. “From minute one, the pressure that we put on Real Madrid’s defence – we pushed them back and we created lots of chances. “And with our people – the energy – we felt the momentum that we created. It helped a lot. “The second half started in a weird way where they put us under a bit of pressure but I think the team was very resilient, very organised, and the difference from this year to last year was the chances – we created most of them. We took them and we scored the goals.” The Champions League final could be the crowning moment of a glorious treble for Pep Guardiola’s City this season. They will claim the first of the three trophies they are chasing if they beat Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday. Silva said: “Yes, with our people again. Hopefully we can give them another happy day and give them the special moment of winning five (Premier Leagues) in six years, which is not easy in this country. “We’re going to rest, sleep well, eat well and prepare well to be at our best and give that happiness to them because they deserve it.” Read More Rumours: Man Utd ‘agree terms’ with Napoli defender, PSG target Silva Man City reach perfection with Real Madrid humiliation that raises complex questions Man City crush holders to book Champions League final return Bernardo Silva’s unique talents lead Man City’s evisceration of Real Madrid Man City vs Real Madrid LIVE: Result and reaction as City make Champions League final Can Pep get the better of Carlo? – 5 talking points ahead of City’s semi-final

Ron DeSantis suffered yet another technical glitch as he continued to plough ahead with his 2024 campaign run following Wednesday’s disastrous Twitter Spaces launch. The Florida governor appeared on Newsmax on Thursday night to speak about his priorities as he hopes to get the Republican vote for the presidential race. But, during his appearance – and in the midst of an attack on the NAACP’s travel advisory – the show suffered a technical problem, with the screen freezing. This marks the second time in two nights that Mr DeSantis’ campaign launch has been plagued by tech issues after his hotly-anticipated launch fell flat on Wednesday night. The Florida governor, 44, chose to announce his presidential run in an unconventional way – in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk and David Sacks. But, the event got off to a rocky start when it crashed several times and the sound repeatedly dropped out. Since then, he has been going on the rounds of rightwing media, taking aim at his main GOP rival Donald Trump. In one interview he said, if elected president, he would consider pardons for those charged with January 6 offences, including Mr Trump. Read More DeSantis v Disney: Why Florida’s governor is at war with the Mouse Ron DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected DeSantis for President? This is what the polls say His 2024 launch was laughable but DeSantis could be more dangerous than Trump

Throughout his political career, President Joe Biden has unfailingly presented himself as a product -- and champion -- of the middle class.

West Ham United could make a move for Guilherme Arana during the January transfer window. West Ham, Brentford and Wolves all had representatives present to watch Arana during Brazil's 1-1 draw with Venezuela this week.

By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO Sri Lanka's central bank is likely to continue to ease monetary policy, following a

By Marcela Ayres and Bernardo Caram BRASILIA Brazil's government is considering changes to the taxation of closed-end funds

NBA Centrel is gone. Long live NBA Centrel.

The Texas Supreme Court is set Tuesday to hear arguments in a case brought on behalf of 22 women who were denied abortions even though they had serious complications with their...

The post-race video on Mercedes’ social media channels was exquisitely timed. It captured Lewis Hamilton walking over to George Russell in the Silver Arrows motorhome in Qatar: an apology, an embrace. “Sorry about that, it wasn’t your fault,” said the seven-time world champion. No fallout. No outrage. The message was clear: let it be known that the collision which derailed both drivers’ race on Sunday night is unequivocally brushed under the carpet. Incidents like this happens. It is, after all, racing. However, the reality is that this one has been brewing for some time. The initial rumblings on team radio tell a better story. Russell, sandwiched in-between Max Verstappen and Hamilton at turn one, bellowing: “Come on, what the hell! That is two races in a row.” Somewhat remarkably, he recovered from dead last to finish fourth. Hamilton, though later taking full responsibility, insisted he was “taken out by his team-mate.” The 38-year-old was left beached in the gravel, his race run after a matter of seconds. All in all, it marks the end of quite a tumultuous month for Mercedes in Asia. Because what has largely characterised Hamilton and Russell’s relationship since the latter joined from Williams at the start of 2022 – his long-awaited opportunity of a lifetime – is respect. Two British drivers, 13 years apart. Hamilton: one of the greatest of all time. Russell: the next big thing. Both have grown equally frustrated at Mercedes’ underperformance in the past 18 months. A period defined by a car with a misdirected philosophy. A period of anguish and pain, both literally with last year’s porpoising and mentally with constant problems and a lack of pace. A period of one win in 39 races. But despite all the issues, respect had been maintained. And, they both say now, it still is. The video – captioned “actions speak louder than words” – points to that. But the touch paper has most certainly been lit. It started in Singapore, when Russell’s eagerness to taste victory resulted in a last lap mistake and shunt into the wall. Hamilton was on his tail then and profiteered to finish on the podium. A week later, in Japan, it intensified. The pair scrapped on numerous occasions, both on track in feisty moves and off track with different strategies and approaches. Russell, upon resisting an initial team order to let Hamilton pass, was told in no uncertain terms: “This is an instruction, George.” Hamilton was also unsatisfied with his team’s tactics in Suzuka, told to stay within DRS range to Russell behind to help his team-mate defend from Carlos Sainz. In the end, the elder statesman finished fifth, two places clear of his junior. So contrary to what both may believe, Sunday’s first turn collision – when both had a sniff and a glimpse of the lead – had been in the offing for Hamilton and Russell. And while both may well want to leave the Middle East with a mantra of forgive and forget, it points to a deeper tale emerging within the team. Both signed new deals last month until the end of the 2025 season. Both are desperate for success: Hamilton for that record-breaking eighth title, a title unjustly snatched from him in Abu Dhabi in 2021, and Russell to simply be in a fight for a championship. But when two competitive animals, vying to be No 1, are left fighting for every point and position, clashes are something of an inevitability. This incident will not be the last. We saw it with Hamilton and Nico Rosberg; a partnership with blew up at various points in 2016. Further back, you only have to go to Hamilton’s rookie season when he squared up to two-time world champion Fernando Alonso across the garage. It is little wonder Hamilton says his team-mate between 2017-2021 – when he won four of his seven titles – was his favourite. Valtteri Bottas never quite had the pace to match-up to the indomitable Hamilton. But Russell does not want to fall into that same bracket. Telling The Independent a year ago of his “ultimate goal” to win a world championship, his ambitions are sky-high. So much so, in fact, that he finished above his team-mate in last season’s standings and will be ruing a few errors this year which means he currently trails Hamilton by 62 points and is languishing in eighth spot, now below Lando Norris. Behind the impeccable politeness is an intense competitiveness and Russell is not interested in playing second fiddle. It all makes for an intriguing sub-plot to play out in the remaining five races of the season as we cross over to the Americas. The state of play in the Mercedes garage is bubbling up, to a point where something may well have to give. Toto Wolff was absent in Japan and Qatar due to undergoing knee surgery, but dialled in on Sunday to calm Russell down. After the incidents in the past two races, no doubt he will be back present in Austin in two weeks’ time and, frankly, both drivers might just need their boss back in town. The respect still seems present between the two Brits – but for how much longer? Read More Lewis Hamilton apologises to George Russell after crash in Qatar: ‘It wasn’t your fault’ F1 drivers unhappy after ‘dangerous’ Qatar Grand Prix causes fainting and vomiting Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collide as Max Verstappen wins in Qatar F1 drivers unhappy after ‘dangerous’ Qatar Grand Prix causes fainting and vomiting ‘I was passing out in the car’: Lance Stroll explains how Qatar heat took its toll Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collide as Max Verstappen wins in Qatar

The Seattle Seahawks lost a very winnable one on the road at the Cincinnati Bengals. Let's blame some people for their Week 6 loss at the AFC contender's place.

Bravo's 'Project Runway' Season 20 will see 14 designers from previous seasons battle it out under the mentorship of Christian Siriano